awr March Madness Picks – Explained Mostly With .GIFs

Ok, I gotta make this quick. Mainly because the NCAA Tournament starts tomorrow afternoon and I have to be up for work in less than five hours. (Clearly I wrote this Wednesday night.) Ok, so like literally everyone else out that takes place in any March Madness Bracket Pools, I don’t have a direct science on how to pick these teams. Obviously. Because if I did, I’d be quite wealthy and I definitely wouldn’t be working 60 hour weeks while having second thoughts on that 7th Jack & Coke on Wednesday. For the record, I’d probably live in mansion in Miami and be Future’s European Tour Manager. I’ve gotten too far off track. Now, for my bracket.

I’m in a few pools this year so I don’t want to give too much info on where my picks came from this year, or really even what all of them are—I know there are some procrastinators among my competition this year—so I’ll just give a few highlights. Note: These are subject to change until about 12:14 on Thursday….so there’s that.

• Don’t Call It An Upset: (8) Pitt over (1) Gonzaga – Yea, I might be wylin. But have you seen Gonzaga lately? They’ve gotten Gonzaga-er) and Gonzaga-er as the year’s gone by. Did you see the Air Guitar earlier this year against Illinois?

What about the Gonzaga-ness displayed on Selection Sunday?
As Bill Hanstock on SBNation put it, “You want some Gonzaga with that Gonzaga, Gonzaga?” I got Pitt in a 5 – 7 point game.

• Marshall "Mathers" Henderson: (12) Ole Miss over (5) Wisconsin – This most definitely also constitutes as wylin. But hey, Ole Miss just beat Missouri and Florida en route taking the SEC Tournament crown. I know it was only one game that’s gotta mean something. Plus, he gave us arguably the greatest .GIF of the college basketball year.

But I'd also fail you if I didn't mention this...


• Sleeper Team: Illinios. I know, but the wylin just doesn’t stop. I know Illinois has basically no shot at winning this year...but then again, yeah they do. They started the season hot, they’ve beating Indiana, they’ve beaten Ohio State (they also lost to Indiana and Ohio State, but at least they know they can win.) But hey, that’s why they’re my sleeper.
Call it flukey, but the Illini pulled this one off.


• National Champion: I’m keeping this one to myself. All I’ll say is that we all could use a little Sonya Curry in our lives.

I'm just sayin.

March Madness is officially here, BROne Thugs 'N Harmony.

ESPN: 30 for 30 One-Day Sale

According to the ever-informative Bill Simmons, Amazon has agreed to run a one-day sale on the entire 30 for 30 Collectors Set for $59.00 if their Facebook page reaches 32,000 fans by June 13^th.
I mean, that's way more than doable. Go "Like" the page on Facebook...it only takes a second and then we all can cop the box set for the low.

Thanks,
Sports Fans Everywhere

Plumlee Bros: Doin Work.

Slow down Duke, you killin em.

Not only will he dunk over a group of five, yes, five kids but Miles Plumlee has actually outdone himself by dunking literally over his younger brother Mason at this summer's Duke basketball camp. Five kids is amazing enough but his brother is just a shade under seven feet tall. Check it out:

Pretty dope and it looks like these two might be more athletic than we thought.

But I'm pretty sure my brother Orin and I could do this.

Don't believe me?? Then you can

UConn's Women's Team Gives Stanford the Jealous

78 straight wins. A second consecutive National Championship. Seven under Coach Auriemma.

Wow. I don't care if it's women's or men's, tennis or soccer, basketball or lacrosse, that shit is impressive. What UConn's Women's basketball team has managed to do is insane, unheard of and incredible: two back-to-back undefeated championship seasons. It's still hard to believe. Geno Auriemma has to go down as one of the greatest coaches in modern sports history. For real. And shouts to Maya Moore, too. If you're reading this, you really do have the snooks. Congrats on your accomplishments, but not for too long. I know Geno won't allow it.



But for real, congrats.

Duke Wins...Haters Unite

This goes down in history as the first time I've been happy to be wrong...and it will probably be the last. Duke wins, Butler gets jealous'd. All is well in the world.
[Note: In all actuality, I'm happy that Butler made it this far. It's further proof that the tourney should stick to 64 teams to keep Cinderellas alive. They have passed the label of mid-major and I was impressed with their run. Shouts to Gordon Hayward and Avery Jukes who played great games. But #dukies all day.]

awr's March Madness Breakdown: South

You think that last one was a quick post? The South breakdown is as follows:

• South Region Finalist: Louisville. [Sorry Dukies] It hurts but Louisville is built for the Tourney and Edgar Sosa has been playing like he has something to prove. Get past Duke in the second round and it's theirs.
• Upset: Louisville over Cal and over Duke. Yea son.
• Team to Watch: Besides Louisville [obviously] I'd have to say Nova. You can NEVER count out Scottie Reynolds.

And there you have it. My bracket breakdown. If you need any help in these last few hours, refer to these last fours posts. Because, asamp was right.

awr's March Madness Breakdown: West

Aight, I gotta make this quick. It's St. Patrick's Day and I have yet to have a drink. These last two breakdowns are gonna be more like lists:

• West Region Finalist: [Secret Team] All I can say is that it's not Syracuse only due to the injury to Onuaku.
• Upset: UTEP over Butler. I've seen UTEP play a few times and Derrick Caracter is a monster. He really should still be at Louisville still because with him, they'd have the ship on lock this year.
• Team to Watch: UTEP. If they can get past Butler, I think they can really give Vandy a run for their money. Then in a matchup against Syracuse, they'd be the underdog by a mile. With nothing to lose, UTEP could be dangerous.

Aight, one region left: The South

awr's March Madness Breakdown: Midwest

Aight, now for the Midwest Region. Even though it's been debated whether overall number was actually given the easiest road to the Championship, this region was less difficult to pick. Let's get to the Midwest Region:

• Midwest Region Finalist: Kansas

Gotta go with Kanas in the Midwest. There might not be another team in the tourney with as good a balance of experience and talent. Sherron Collins has lived up to the expectations and was able to lead his team to the number 1 overall seed. It's been argued that Kanas' road might not be too easy, but they're still only going to have to possibly play Michigan State, Ohio State or Tennessee, that beat them back in January. All do-able games.

• Upset [If You Can Call it That]: Northern Iowa over UNLV

I mean, these teams are 8 and 9 so they're pretty evenly matched but I've seen Northern Iowa play more than UNLV. Plus, my boy Mase used to play there so I'm giving them the benefit of doubt. #sampshrug

• Teams to Watch: Ohio State and Maryland

The main reasons to watch these two teams are their marquee players, Evan Turner and Greivis Vasquez, respectively. Both of them are good enough to take over a game at any time. And they probably will.

Up next, West Region!

awr's March Madness Breakdown: East

Yes. I'm finally blogging about March Madness. Work has been crazier than ever but I'm finally back. And it's the perfect time. This year is bound to be one of the most unpredictable tournaments in a very long time, so no picks are really too far-fetched. Since I'm participating in like 5 different brackets, I'm only going to post my finalist in each region, my upsets and my team to watch. That might be too much already but whatever. So here's my breakdown of the East:

• East Region Finalist: Kentucky

Even though experience might the most important thing to have going into the tourney, sheer talent might be a close second. I'm looking for the combo of Wall, Cousins and Bledsoe to be the best young tourney team since Melo and the boys in 2003.

• Upset: Cornell over Temple

Most years this seems like a crazy pick but this year is unlike any other. Cornell has a pretty decent game inside and out, highlighted by .434 three point percentage. Hey, you gotta pick upsets somewhere.

• Team to Watch: West Virginia

Really, it's player to watch. Da'Sean Butler has been getting BUSY all year and he pretty much singlehandedly won huge games in the Big East Championship twice. That leads me to believe that if placed in a similar spot in the tourney, he could make it happen again.

I'm not sure what it is but I'm in a really good mood. I always do well in March Madness and some of these brackets are for $$$. Welp, must be the money!

Midwest Region up next!

Hasheem Thabeet Looks Like...

I'm sure that you've heard by now that in an unprecedented move, last years 2nd overall NBA draft pick, Hasheem Thabeet has been demoted to the developmental league. But that's not what this blog post is about. This post is about the one challenge I'm having with Thabeet: trying to figure out exactly what he looks like. So far I've come up with...a lot of things. The most obvious is Jar Jar Binx from Star Wars. Even though the resemblance was closer during his college days, you can still see it a little bit. [And before he cut his hair, Stanley Robinson had the Jar Jar look going.] But I might have figured out where I originally know the Tanzanian center from...he was in an episode of In Living Color! You don't believe me?? Just check it out:

Told you.

Shabba!!

The Worst Way to Play Defense by Javier Gonzalez

Chapter One: The Worst Way to Defend a Dunk/Lay-Up
Ever had the dream of making it into the Sportscenter Top 10?? Since completing an alley-oop, shooting a game-winner and sinking 12 threes are so difficult to do, I recommend unsuccessfully defending a dunk or lay-up. It's fun AND easy! Just follow these steps:

1. First thing you have to do it get one of your teammates to turn the ball over.
2. Next, make sure that none of your teammates come past half court to play defense.
[They might actually stop the other team from scoring!]
3. The next thing you need to do is use timing to ensure a midair confrontation with the offensive player. [See Lebron James¹.]
4. Make a failed attempt to block the dunk or lay-up. [See Lebron James².]

And that's it. If you follow these steps you should be guaranteed a spot on the Sportscenter Top 10. For proof, just look at mine from today:
See, dreams DO come true!

-J.G.

National Championship. Oh Yeah.

So the last game of the college basketball season is less than an hour away and I'm not even that excited. Despite having a slightly T'd bracket, I was still able to win it with only one Final Four team. Ow. Since Michigan State fucking killed my joint, I haven't even been paying much attention to the tournament other than catching the highlights. I'm still shocked that the Spartans were able to beat Louisville and UConn in games where they were sever underdogs but that's all gonna end tonight. UNC is just gonna be too much for them tonight. Pause. Hasborough is gonna go in, and so is Ellington. Not to mention Ty Lawson, who's been insane lately. So, as hard as it is for me to say, in about 3 hours we should be seeing the Tar Heels cutting down the nets as National Champions. Oh well.

We Are The Champions

T'd.

My bracket is officially fucked T'd.

Thanks a lot Pitt...Nova...whatever.

Go Louisville. Death to UNC.

The First Week of March Madness. Oww.

So everything hasn't gone according to plan with my bracket.

• Wake T'd me. I definitely had them going to the Sweet 16.
• Duke actually decided to play against Texas which kills hurts my Elite 8. Oh well.
• Pitt looked far from beastly in their game against Oklahoma State. Wtf. The only constants were Sam Young dropping 32 and DeJaun Blair's double-double. At least they should smash Xavier on Thursday.

But the one thing that went well was that my Tigers fought til the end against UNC. We started the game off straight but at the end, the bench for North Carolina was just too much. With eight minutes left, the game was tied at 63 but LSU couldn't withstand the 11-0 run by the Tar Heels. All-in-all, good season, boys: SEC Champs, Conference Player and Coach of the Year and a strong showing in the tourney. And I don't care what anyone says, Marcus Thornton should will be a frirst rounder. He gets buckets. And Trent Johnson might look like an ostrich but he really is a great coach.

Three hottest teams right now have to be UConn, 'Cuse and yeah, Duke. Big wins in the last round should give them momentum heading into and through the Sweet 16.

Oh yeah, and USC got beat by Michigan State yesterday. Did anybody peep Lil Romeo on the bench looking concerned towards the end of the game?? Classic.
^ Concerned. ^

March Madness Is Upon Us...Finally

A lot happened during my hiatus for Spring Break 09...mostly a lot of boring ass preseason baseball, Kobe/Lebron/D.Wade playing insane basketball, the epic SIX overtime game between Syracuse and UConn  and the launching of March Madness. F'ing right.

I've been waiting since the end of College Football for March Madness and it's finally here. The best thing about this year is that with no team being able to maintain the #1 ranking during the season, there's no real team that's head-and-shoulders better than everyone else. Here's my short version of my bracket, starting with my Agreements, Disagreements, Surprises and Sleepers:

Agreements:

• The #1 Seeds: I had North Carolina, Louisville and UConn in my Final Four since the beginning of the year so I had to agree with them getting the top spots. My fourth team, Oklahoma got the 2-seed in the South so I'm not too mad.
• I was glad to see that my man Jonny Flynn and 'Cuse got rewarded for their heroic performance in the Big East Tourney by being given the 3-seed in the South. They should be  smooth sailing until the third round against Oklahoma...
• Kansas got the smooth 3-seed in the Midwest despite falling to Baylor in the Big 12 Tournament. They should make it all the way to the Elite 8 against Louisville.
• Cornbread? Ain't nutin wrong with that. (1:29)

Disagreements:

• HOW does LSU get the 8-seed and have to play BUTLER?? I thought that our dominance in the SEC would have been enough to get a more manageable 6- or 7-seed but we get the dreaded 8/9 match up. I was watching the Selection Show mad like:
   But hey, at least it's not a 5/12....

• I don't think Arizona should have made it this year. I'm a Jarryd Bayless fan but he's gone and so is Lute. Finishing the year unranked with a 19-13 record doesn't really scream "NCAA Tournament." It seems like they got in off of past seasons' performances and took a spot away from another deserving team. But that happens every year.
  
• How can you leave out St. Mary's?? The lack of a tough conference schedule isn't really their fault. A 20-6 record (with 3 of the L's coming from Gonzaga) should have been enough to get them in the Big Dance. 

Surprises:

• North Dakota State. After their performance, I'm not surprised they were chosen, just surprised they were able to do it. This was their first year of NCAA Tournament eligibility and they were able to grab a spot. Impressive. Especially when a school like Northwestern has never made the Tourney....even in 71 tries.
• And finally, I don't really agree/disagree about Penn State not making the Tournament, I'm just surprised. The Big 10 was shockingly good this year which made success for all of the teams impossible. 

Sleepers:

• VCU: Eric Maynor is a beast and he's done this before, 
• Siena: a fast, running team, comparable to the Phoenix Suns of the NBA, and 
• LSU: Gotta go with the Tigers...even though they would have the Tar Heels in round two. Oh well, the season was fun while it lasted.

Basically, this year's Tourney is wide open and it should be one of the most enjoyable in recent memory. And when your team loses, I don't want to hear anything. Just stfu. S-T-F-U!!

Got Damn, Jodie Meeks

Big game jitters?? Hell naw. This fool Jodie Meeks from Kentucky's basketball team fucking BALLED last night against school rival Tennessee. Now when I say he balled, he BALLED. With his previous high being 46 that he scored against Appalachain State he went off for a school-record 54 points, breaking Dan Issel's 39-year-old record. And this wasn't off of dunks and put-backs. This was off five jumpers, 11 threes and 14/14 freethrows. Didn't I say he BALLED??! He probably won't win, but I'm sure this puts him in the conversation for National Player of the Year. Yes, I said it.

Check the facts:

• No player has scored 54 in regulation in the last decade,
• No player from a BCS school has scored this many points since Eddie House put up 61 in 2000. (But that was in OT.)
• This was a college game which is shorter than an NBA game with a longer shot clock which leads to less possessions for each team. Once again, he BALLED.

[Note: Is anybody else wondering about what Lebron's 1.18.09 announcement will be?? I just hope it's not rapping. We've all seen how that can turn out...it's not pretty.]

My God.

Don't let me be right, Lebron.

Biggest Game of the Year...for the Big 12.

Aight, I don't have much time to post this so I'll get straight to the point. The Big 12 aint shit. Nah, they're good but I usually could care less who wins what in their conference. This is the first year since Vince Young played that I really paid attention to any football out there but it's for a really good reason. The offenses are AMAZING. There are about 5 or 6 Heisman candidates on the offensive side of the ball...but the defenses are terrible. So with tomorrow's game being the biggest game of the year for the conference, I'm going with #2 Texas Tech over #5 Oklahoma. This was a really close decision but I'm giving the edge to Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree, especially with Oklahoma missing two of their starting defenders out for the game.

There will be little to no defense played so I'm expecting a shootout. Bradford's gonna go for 300+ yards but Harrell will go for over 400. Crabtree's gonna go wild tomorrow too. And with all that said...SEC all day.

Oh and Penn State's not losing to Michigan State. Sorry Ohio State.

[Yeah, it's a video game picture...but it's gonna happen. Boomsooka.]

Big Weeks Ahead. Oh, and basketball too...

This year in college football has been just as up-and-down as it has in the recent past. The #1 spot, which has not been the place to be, has been pretty good to Alabama as they've been able to hold onto it for the past few weeks. Texas Tech was able to shit on beat Oklahoma State 56-20 to stay at #2 and Texas beat Baylor to remain at #3. No real surprises here. But, the next few weeks are going to be huge for these three. Bama should coast against Mississippi State but their rivalry game against Auburn is always a big game. And not to mention these statements said by Auburn's Brad Lester. Never a good idea, yo. Especially when your team sucks. [Right Mauri??] If Bama can win these two and take down Florida in the SEC Championships, they should be more than capable of not only going to the National Championship, but they should considered the favorite. [Note: I could even go as far to call Bama/Florida the real National Championship.] Texas Tech's biggest test will be this weekend against #5 Oklahoma. The Sooners have a lot to prove after losing to a then-#5 Texas in the middle of the season. Graham Harrell's Heisman, along with a shot the National Championship, lie in Saturday's game in Norman - the biggest game in Tech history. And now, on to Texas. Despite having the distraction of a racist teammate, the Longhorns might have the easiest remaining schedule to get to the Championship. Baylor, an overrated Kansas team and Texas A&M are all that remain between Texas and the Big 12 Championship. Since the winner of that game will be Texas, Oklahoma or Texas Tech, they should be the other team in the National Championship.

With that being said, I'm going with the SEC team. Even though it burns my football soul, I'm going to go with Bama or Florida in the Championship, especially since it will be most likely be against a Big 12 team. SEC pwns.

>


And with that being said...NCAA basketball has begun!! ...and UNC is preseason #1. While that might seem like a good thing, the preseason #1 has gone on to win the NCAA Championship only 2 of the last ten years. 20%?? Can the Tar Heels beat history?? We'll see. The USA Today Top 10 as it is now:

1. North Carolina

2. UConn

3. Louisville

4. UCLA

5. Duke

6. Pittsburgh

7. Michigan State

8. Texas

9. Notre Dame

10. Purdue

Should be a great year of College Hoops.

or

We'll see...